Prosthetic devices for use within bodily orifices are known in the art and have been used for many years. More recently, however, the use of spiral shaped prosthetic devices and portion thereof, have also become known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,904 discloses a prosthetic conduit having two porous concentrically associated tubes with a helical spring enclosed therebetween. The spring enables the conduit to resist collapse under a wide variety of stress forces, and the convolutions in the tube walls provide flexibility without kinking.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,569 discloses a transluminally placed endovascular graft prosthesis including a helically wound coil having a generally tubular shape that is made of a heat sensitive shape memory material. After placement within a body orifice and upon heating of the prosthesis, the prosthesis expands so as to become firmly anchored within the wall of the orifice.
This and other prosthetic devices, however, also have inherent limitations. For example, this prosthetic device is limited to being reduced in the size or shrunk is only one manner, i.e. reducing the diameter of the prosthetic device. Similarly, it is difficult for this and other prosthetic devices to be tested for integrity and/or failure. For example, to determine the condition of currently available prosthetic devices, either an X-ray needs to be taken, which may not even provide all the necessary information, such as cracks, wear, etc., and/or an invasive procedure needs to be conducted.